Former NFL player Junior Seau fatally shot; suicide suspected

OCEANSIDE -- Junior Seau, a homegrown superstar who was the fist-pumping, emotional leader of the San Diego Chargers for 13 years, was found shot to death at his home Wednesday morning in what police said appeared to be a suicide. He was 43.

Police Chief Frank McCoy said Seau's girlfriend reported finding him unconscious with a gunshot wound to the chest and that lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful. A gun was found near him, McCoy said. Police said no suicide note was found, and they didn't immediately know to whom the gun was registered.

Seau's death in Oceanside, in northern San Diego County, stunned the region he represented with almost reckless abandon. The same intensity that got the star linebacker ejected for fighting in his first exhibition game helped carry the Chargers to their only Super Bowl, after the 1994 season. The 49ers beat San Diego 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX.

A ferocious tackler, he'd leap up, pump a fist and kick out a leg after dropping a ball carrier or quarterback.

49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who finished his playing career with the Chargers in 2000 and then coached at the University of San Diego, said: "I am saddened that I was not there for Junior as he had always been for his teammates and friends.

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"One of my fondest remembrances as a professional football player was looking across the locker room after playing my last career game with the Chargers and knowing that I had shared that moment with one of the greatest teammates and competitors the game has ever known. The moment moved me to get off my stool, approach Junior and ask him to trade jerseys. It's the only time I had done that in my career."

Former 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice took part in a charity golf tournament with Seau on Monday and told ESPN that he didn't see this coming.

"He was so lively. He was having so much fun," Rice said. "Every hole I would go on the tee box, and I would talk to him and watch him hit incredible drives. He was such a happy person. I'm so completely devastated right now.

"I hadn't seen him in such a long time. I asked, 'Junior, how's it going?' He said everything was going great."

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Seau used to come to San Diego Padres games when Bochy was manager, fondly remembering that Seau used to use football lingo and call him "Coach."

"He's one of those guys that always seemed like he was in a great mood," Bochy said. "He's a guy that walked into a room and kind of took it over. He enjoyed life."

Seau's mother appeared before reporters outside the former player's house, weeping uncontrollably.

"I don't understand ... I'm shocked," Luisa Seau cried out.

Her son gave no indication of a problem when she spoke to him by phone earlier this week, she said.

"He's joking to me, he called me a 'homegirl,' " she said.

In October 2010, Seau survived a 100-foot plunge down a seaside cliff in his SUV, hours after he was arrested for investigation of domestic violence at the Oceanside home he shared with his girlfriend. The woman had told authorities that Seau assaulted her during an argument.

There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol involved in the crash, and Seau told authorities he fell asleep while driving. He suffered minor injuries.

"I just can't imagine this, because I've never seen Junior in a down frame of mind," said Bobby Beathard, who as Chargers general manager took Seau out of USC with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 draft. "He was always so upbeat and he would keep people up. He practiced the way he played. He made practice fun. He was a coach's dream. He was an amazing guy as well as a player and a person. This is hard to believe."

Seau's ex-wife, Gina, told the Union-Tribune San Diego that he texted her and each of their three children separate messages: "I love you."

"We're all in shock," she said. "We're beyond sad and beyond shocked. The kids and I are just huddled together at home. There is no way to make sense of this."

Gina Seau said she didn't know if the effects of concussions contributed to Seau's death.

"We have no clues whatsoever. We're as stunned and shocked as anyone else. We're horribly saddened. We miss him and we'll always love him," she said.

Seau, who played in the NFL for parts of 20 seasons, is the eighth member of San Diego's lone Super Bowl team who has died, all before the age of 45. Lew Bush, Shawn Lee, David Griggs, Rodney Culver, Doug Miller, Curtis Whitley and Chris Mims are the others. Causes of death ranged from heart attacks to a plane crash to a lightning strike.

Seau was voted to a Chargers-record 12 straight Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro six times.

"We all lost a friend today," Chargers President Dean Spanos said in a statement. "This is just such a tragic loss. One of the worst things I could ever imagine."

Seau retired a few times, the first in August 2006 after having spent three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. "I'm not retiring," he said. "I am graduating."

Four days later, he signed with the New England Patriots and played there his final four seasons.

More than 100 people gathered outside of Seau's home, only hours after he was found dead. .

Several hours after Seau was found, his body was loaded onto a medical examiner's van and taken away as fans, some wearing Chargers jerseys, snapped pictures and raised their hands in the air as if in prayer.

Family friend Priscilla Sanga said about 50 friends and family members gathered in the garage where Seau's body lay on a gurney and that they had the opportunity to say goodbye.

"Everybody got to see Junior before they took him away," Sanga said. "He looked so peaceful and cold. It was disbelief. We all touched him and kissed him."

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